Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Social Media and e-Diplomacy in China pp 45–68Cite as

Scanning the Foreign Use of Weibo

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 647 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter introduces the practice of e-diplomacy on Weibo by foreign embassies in Beijing. The key aim of this chapter is to bring an overall picture of foreign use of Weibo and identify the top five embassies that use Weibo frequently. It seeks to address three gaps in existing knowledge by empirical research. Firstly, at present, we simply do not know—in a systematic sense—what foreign embassies are doing on Weibo. We do not know which embassies have the most followers on Weibo, how often they Weibo, and what they are posting about. Secondly, this chapter seeks to address the fact that we do not have a clear understanding of the benefit that foreign embassies are gaining from the Chinese online platform. It is not clear that what these benefits are due to their Weibo behavior. Finally, this chapter seeks to address the deeper question: what the uptake of foreign embassy users of Chinese social media—and Chinese Weibo in particular—means for public diplomacy. Does Weibo offer better ways for public diplomacy workers to communicate with potential audience, or is it instead a fragmentary, dangerous, and disempowering distraction?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Aldama, Z. (2013, March 1). Occidente copia a China. El país. http://tecnologia.elpais.com/tecnologia/2013/03/01/actualidad/1362160234_435886.html.

  • Avery, E., Lariscy, R., Amador, E., Ickowitz, T., Primm, C., & Taylor, A. (2010). Diffusion of social media among public relations practitioners in health departments across various community population sizes. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22(3), 336–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayish, M. I. (2005). Virtual public relations in the United Arab Emirates: A case study of 20 UAE organizations’ use of the internet. Public Relations Review, 31(3), 381–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broom, G. M., Casey, S., & Ritchey, J. (1997). Toward a concept and theory of organization public relationships. Journal of Public Relations Research, 9(2), 83–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Business in Asia.com. (2012). The rise of China’s Internet. http://www.business-in-asia.com/internet_report.html.

  • Chavez, M., & Hoewe, J. (2010). Reconstructing public diplomacy in the context of policy, communica on, and technology: An examination of US.–Mexico border relations. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 25(3⁄4), 181–190. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost. Accessed September 5, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • ChinaLabs. (2013a, October). The report on the effectiveness of using Internet by foreign embassies in China, Chinalabs. http://www.huanqiu.com/attach/country/the_influence_of_websites_of_foreign_embassies_in_china_pdf.pdf. Viewed August 22, 2015.

  • ChinaLabs. (2013b, October). Research report on the impact of foreign embassies’ online engagement with Chinese citizens.http://www.huanqiu.com/attach/country/the_influence_of_websites. Accessed August 23, 2016.

  • CNNIC. (2013). The 31st statistical report on Internet development. CNNIC. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://www1.cnnic.cn/AU/SocialR/SocialNews/201301/t20130121_38607.htm.

  • Cogburn, D. L., & Espinoza-Vasquez, F. M. K. (2011). From networked nominee to networked nation: Examining the impact of web 2.0 and social media on political participation and civic engagement in the 2008 Obama campaign. Journal of Political Marketing, 10(1 ⁄ 2), 191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtin, P. A., & Gaither, T. K. (2004). International agenda-building in cyberspace: A study of Middle East government English-language website. Public Relations Review, 30(I), 25–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dashan. (2012). What is Weibo? Quora. Retrieved from http://www.quora.com/What-is-Weibo.

  • Faina, J. (2012). Twitter and the new publicity. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 69, 55–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, M. A. (1984). Building theory in public relations: Interorganizational relationships. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Gainesville, FL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, A. (2013, February 19). The use of social media in public diplomacy: Scanning e-diplomacy by embassies in Washington DC. http://takefiveblog.org/2013/02/19/the-use-of-social-media-in-public-diplomacy-scanning-e-diplomacy-by-embassies-in-washington-dc/. Viewed August 22, 2015.

  • Gao, Z. (2013). China’s Sina dominates Weibo by faking followers. The Epoch Times. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/chinas-sina-dominates-Weibo-by-faking-followers-351661.html.

  • Grant, W. J., Moon, B., & Busby Grant, J. (2010). Digital dialogue? Australian politicians’ use of the social network tool twitter. Australian Journal of Political Science, 45, 579–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, B. (2013). Diplomacy 2.0: The future of social media in nation branding. http://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=exchange. Viewed September 20, 2015.

  • Harris, V. (2014, November 24 ). The year the GOP stepped up its digital game, Retrieved June 20, 2017, from https://www.harrismediallc.com/2014/11/24/vincent-harris-gop-stepped-up-digital/.

  • Hayden, C. (2011). Beyond the “Obama Effect”: Refining the instruments of engagement through US. public diplomacy. American Behavioral Scientist, 55(6), 784–802. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost. Accessed September 5, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, X., & Pedraza-Jimenez, R. (2015, March–April). Chinese social media strategies: Communication key features from a business perspective. Profesional De La Informacion, 24(2), 200–209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, S. (2011). The strategic use of twitter to manage personal public relations. Public Relations Review, 12, 90–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang, D. S., & Mastin, T. (2008). How cultural difference affects international tourism public relations websites: A comparative analysis using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Public Relations Review, 34(I), 4–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirat, M. (2007). Promoting online media relations: Public relations departments’ use of Internet in the UAE. Public Relations Review, 33(2), 166–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leavitt, A., Burchard, E., Fisher, D., & Gilbert, S. (2009, September). The influentials: New approaches for analyzing influence on twitter. Web Ecology Project 4.http://www.webecologyproject.org/2009/09/analyzing-influence-on-twitter/. Accessed September 12, 2012.

  • Ledingham, J. A., & Bruning, S. D. (1998). Relationship management in public relations: Dimensions of an organization-public relationship. Public Relations Review, 24(1), 55–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ledingham, J. A., & Bruning, S. D. (Eds.). (2000). A longitudinal study of organisation-public relationship dimensions: Defining the role of communication in the practice of relationship management. In Public relations as relationship management (pp. 55–70). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levenshus, A. (2010). Online relationship management in a presidential campaign: A case study of the Obama campaign’s management of its internet-integrated grassroots effort. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22(3), 313–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lim, J. (2014). A model of functional rules for social media in the networked news sphere. Asian Journal of Communication, 24(3), 279–294. doi:10.1080/01292986.2013.877041.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y. (2012). Demystifying social media use and pubic relations practice in China. In S. C. Duhe (Ed.), New media and public relations (2nd ed.). Bern: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marwick, A., & Boyd, D. (2011). To see and be seen: Celebrity practice on twitter. Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 17, 139–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKeown, C. A., & Plowman, K. D. (1999). Reaching publics on the web during the 1996 presidential campaign. Journal of Public Relations Research, 11(4), 321–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Men, L. R., & Tsai, W. H. S. (2012). How companies cultivate relationships with publics on social network sites: Evidence from China and the United States. In S. C. Duhe (Ed.), New Media and Public Relations. Bern: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mershon, P. (2012, March 28). 5 Social media tips for finding and engaging your target audience. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/5-social-media-tips-for-finding-and-engaging-your-target-audience-new-research/. Viewed August 22, 2015.

  • Ociepka, B. (2012). The impact of new technologies on international communication: The case of public diplomacy. Information Sciences, 59, 24–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, J. (2009). Relationship symmetry in social networks: Why facebook will go fully asymmetric. Bokard. Retrieved February 28, from http://bokardo.com/archives/relationship-symmetry-on-social-networks-why-facebook-will-go-fullu-asymmetric/.

  • Raymond, E. (1999). The cathedral and the bazaar. Knowledge, Technology & Policy, 12, 23–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riordan, S. (2004). Dialogue based public diplomacy: A new foreign paradigm? In D. Kelly (Ed.), Discussion Papers in Diplomacy. Desk top Publishing: Annette Hellinga.

    Google Scholar 

  • Searson, E. M., & Johnson, M. A. (2010). Transparency laws and interactive public relations: An analysis of Latin American government websites. Public Relations Review, 36(2), 120–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Signitzer, B. H., & Coombs, T. (1992). Public relations and public diplomacy: Conceptual convergences. (special issue: International public relations). Public Relations Review, 18(2), 137–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B. G. (2010). Socially distributing public relations: Twitter, Haiti, and interactivity in social media. Public Relations Review, 36(4), 329–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, J. (2014). China’s Weibo: Is faster di e- rent? New media & society. 16(1), 24–37. http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444812472966.

  • Tang, K. (2014, March 3). China’s netizens react to Kunming station attacks with anger, grief: Panic, calls against racial profiling, and anger at Western coverage permeate Weibo in absence of ongoing TV coverage of terror attacks. Buzzfeed News. http://www.buzzfeed.com/kevintang/chinese-react-to-kunming-station-attacks-with-anger#.icv3AZLn63. Viewed on August 22, 2015.

  • Taylor, H. (2007). The not-so-black art of public diplomacy. World Policy Journal, 24(4), 51–59. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost. Accessed September 17, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trammell, K. D. (2006). Blog offensive: An exploratory analysis of attacks published on campaign blog posts from a political public relations perspective. Public Relations Review, 32(4), 402–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuch, H. N. (1990). Communicating with the world (p. 3). New York: St. Martins Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • What is Public Relations? PR Definition: PRSA Official Statement. Public Relations Resources & PR Tools for Communications Professionals: Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDened#.UkQ1htLUkrU. Accessed September 26, 2013.

  • Xifra, J. (2012). New media and public diplomacy in network society-applying Manuel Castells’ sociology to public society. In S. C. Duhe (Ed.), New Media and Public Relations (2nd ed.). Bern: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xifra, J., & Grau, F. (2010). Nanoblogging PR: The discourse on public relations in twitter. Public Relations Review, 36(2), 171–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, T. (2014, April 13). Social, digital & mobile in China 2014. We are social. http://wearesocial.sg/blog/2014/04/social-digital-mobile-china-2014.

  • Yepsen, E. A. (2012). Practicing successful twitter public diplomacy: A model and a case study of US. efforts in Venezuela. CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy Paper 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaharna, R. (2010). Battles to bridges: US. strategic communication and public diplomacy after 9/11. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Ying Jiang

Authors
  1. Ying Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ying Jiang .

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jiang, Y. (2017). Scanning the Foreign Use of Weibo. In: Social Media and e-Diplomacy in China. Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59358-0_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation